


Siren Song

by Helloiamsilver



Category: Adam Lambert (Musician)
Genre: Fantasy, Interspecies, M/M, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Science, Science Fiction & Fantasy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-06-04
Updated: 2012-07-07
Packaged: 2017-11-06 21:20:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,890
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/423337
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Helloiamsilver/pseuds/Helloiamsilver
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Adam is a marine biologist; he is a practitioner of science. But in his heart, he feels there is more to the world than the simply hard facts he has been taught.  Sometimes these worlds of science and fantasy collide head on…and the results are startling.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Welcome to My World of Truth

“So, Mr. Lambert, what exactly are you searching for out here?” Jackson asked, turning the steering wheel of the boat towards open ocean. 

Adam put down his binoculars and bit his lip. He wasn’t sure how much he should reveal about what he was up to. On one hand, Jackson was his shipman. He was going to be with him during this whole expedition, he needed to know what was going on if he was going to be any help. On the other hand…He would most likely think Adam was insane. He would have to word it very carefully.

“Jackson, have you ever heard of the Aquatic Ape Theory?” Adam asked hesitantly.

“No…” Jackson raised an eyebrow and then laughed, “Are you telling me, we’re looking for monkeys out here?” He gestured around towards the empty sea and laughed again at the idea,

Adam let out a half-hearted chuckle, “Not exactly…It has to do with parallel evolution…” He then grew serious, “Jackson…If I tell you the whole story, can I ask you to promise me that you’ll take me seriously and that you won’t share this with anyone?” Adam asked, his eyes piercing.

Jackson lost his laughing demeanor and stopped the boat. He seemed to understand the gravity of what Adam was going to say.

“Yeah, I-I promise,” he nodded his head.

“No matter what I say?” 

“I cross my heart,” 

Adam took a deep breath, “Let me start from the beginning. It all began last year…

\--

My team and I had been researching mass whale beachings, that’s how it started... There had been steady stream of these abnormal beachings. So, so many whales washed ashore and in so many different parts of the globe. The whole situation was strange, as was the involvement from the authorities. There had been reports of things, different creatures, washing up on the shores beside the whales, but nothing had been confirmed.

While we were taking samples from the whales, there was a team of Navy officers in hazmat suits investigating one area of the beach. We assumed they were testing the whales, same as we were. But none of the whales near them were cut open. We were never able to see what exactly they were working on.

 

The way that the whales all died seemed…odd. They were all found bleeding from the ears with clear damage caused by some sort of auditory attack. We believed it to be a result of Navy sonar weapons testing. That’s why we were investigating; we wanted the sonar testing to stop.

That wasn’t the only evidence we had, we also had been taking auditory recordings, listening for whale song and proof of the sonar testing.

When we played them back, we definitely heard the sonar blast as well the response from the animals. The reaction was incredible and drastic. There was an uproar of vocalizations. The strangest part was…not all of them were whale sounds. There was another kind of vocalization there.

We had an acoustics expert come in and he was able to tell us more. These vocalizations…they were incredibly complex. More complex than any whale or even a dolphin. It was like a language…

Whatever it was, it was clear that all these creatures were being affected by the sonar testing. 

Later, we received word that there had been another mass whale beaching in Africa and that scientists had recorded the same kind of sound recording…” 

“Wait,” Jackson interrupted him, “What does all this have to do with the monkeys?”

Adam smirked, “The Aquatic Ape Theory. And I’m getting to that. This is a long story with lots of parts. This is the first time I’ve told it to someone besides my team.

There was more to what we found in Africa than just the sound recordings. This time, scientists were able to investigate the beach before the authorities got there. When they’d cut open the belly of a shark, they found something a little strange.

It was the body of some sort of creature; we weren’t able to figure out what it was from the first look and even weirder, there was a spear inside the belly as well. 

These spears weren’t unheard of. Many deep-sea fishermen had found fish and sharks with these same kind of spears imbedded in them. They had carvings and some had the barbs from stingrays attached to the top. I’d never really looked much into them before, legends weren’t my forte.

But back to the body…It was in poor shape. But from what we could see, it looked like a strange mishmash of different animals. 

The part of the skull plate we found had a large ridge on the top, similar to primates, and we sent it off to a different lab to have a full reconstruction made. 

The tail resembled that of a manatee but there were bones inside it, manatees don’t have bones in the tail. The ribcage and pelvis region were oddly shaped for a sea creature, they looked like they were designed to carry weight on land. 

And the phalanges, finger bones, they didn’t look like fin or flipper bones. The only thing they looked like were…hands. They were hands. 

The pelvis looked human, the hands looked human, the bones inside the tail looked like extended human feet… the evidence was overwhelming.

None of us wanted to say the word. We were scientists. But we knew what it was-what it had to be. It was… a mermaid-“

“Mermaids? Are you freaking kidding me man?” Jackson asked in disbelief, “Seriously?”

“I know, I know, it sounds ridiculous. But it’s not so crazy! This is where that theory comes in. 

You see, humans are the most well-adapted for water of all the great apes. We can hold our breath longer than any other land mammal, in so. We’re mostly hairless. Our spines are the most flexible of any primate. Our fingers and toes are partially webbed. These don’t make sense for a solely land animal.

The idea is that early in our evolution, humans lived more on the beaches and the shallow ocean than in the trees. We developed the ability to walk upright so as to wade into the water and fetch food. 

This idea goes even further by saying that during this time of evolution, the human species split. One group stayed on land and traveled further inland, keeping the aquatic adaptations developed during this time but the other group…They moved towards the seas.

Over a long, long period of time they evolved to become aquatic mammals, like dolphins kind of. Still breathing air but living life in the sea. Feet grew into a tail, eyes grew large so as to see underwater and they advanced as a society same as we did.

“How advanced are they?” Jackson asked. The thought that this civilization of actual mermaids had been living beneath the sea the whole time was insane.

“We don’t know. That’s what I’m here to find out,” Adam said with determination as he looked out to the sea.

“Wait, wait, wait… How come no one knows about this!? If you and your team discovered the body of a goddamned mermaid, how come this hasn’t been all over the news!?” Jackson asked, folding his arms. Adam’s eyes shot downward and his face fell. He breathed out a deep sigh.

“Remember what I said about the Navy? How they were investigating the beach? Turns out they were investigating us too.

The government had been keeping tabs on us ever since we discovered the first sound recordings. They had followed us to our facility in Africa. You see, we’d been trying to get a permit to take the body samples out of the country and every time we’d been turned down. 

And then one day, we went to the facility and it had been roped off. There were government officials everywhere. And they took everything and we couldn’t stop it. All the samples, the research…everything was gone. 

Our only hope of physical evidence was a small sample that we’d sent off for genetic testing. Unfortunately, that too was destroyed. The lab said that because the genetic material was so similar to a human’s, it must’ve been contaminated with human DNA. We lost that evidence too.

“How did the government even know about all this?” Jackson asked.

“The reason that they knew what we’d found was… because they’d found it too and they had probably done so way before us. 

My team learned that that first beach hadn’t been secured by the government earlier that morning. Two boys were playing on the beach and they found something, a strange body. That’s what the Navy had roped off that day. The government later made the boys change their statement about what they’d saw, but when we went to see them, they stood by their original statement. 

They even had more than a statement though. A lot more. 

The first was a drawing one of the boys had done of what he’d saw. It matched our skull reconstructions perfectly. The large eyes, the high skull, it was exact.

The second was even more important. It turns out the Navy had neglected to check the boys phone. He had a video on it of they’d seen.

It was incredible. The creature…it was alive in the video. When the boy poked it with a stick, it reacted, leaping up and screaming. 

It’s the best evidence we have besides the sound recordings. Of course, there are other videos around the world, other eyewitnesses. But of course, those always get dismissed as hoaxes,”

“I still don’t get it,” Jackson said, his brow furrowed, “Why exactly is the government covering this up? What do they gain from it? You think they’re trying to protect them? The, uh, mermaids?”

Adam scoffed, “Hardly. Our theory goes back to that sonar weapon. If the general public found out about the mermaids, well, first there would be insanity of course, but once things cooled down people would want to protect them. These sonar weapons do massive damage and the majority of people would not allow this kind of harm to come to a humanlike creature. The Navy’s covering their asses,” Adam grimaced. 

“So…” 

“So?” Adam raised an eyebrow.

“That’s what you’re out here doing then? Looking for them?” Jackson asked.

Adam nodded slowly and closed his eyes. His hands gripped the guardrail tightly, “Yes. That’s why I’m here. The rest of them gave up. But I refuse. I have to find them,”

“How do you expect to do that? If they’re so hidden and so deep?”

Adam looked out towards the ocean and took a deep breath.

“By going back to the beginning. The whales. I know they’ll be with the whales. We find the whales…we find the mermaids,”


	2. You Pull Like the Sea

_I drifted beneath the surface of the ocean, feeling my body move with the current. Even though I was completely underwater, I felt no need for air. Although I was nude, I felt no self-consciousness, merely wrapped in the comforting embrace of the sea. All I knew was that I had to find him, the creature I had been searching for. I could feel his presence in the water. Although he was just beyond my range of sight, I could sense tantalizing glimpses. The swish of a tail. Sparkling blue eyes. An undulating expanse of skin. I followed him deeper and deeper into the abyss of the sea, always following. He darted close to the ocean floor before pulling up, a cloud of sand following him, hiding him from me. The seaweed swayed in response to his motions. I followed, feeling the soft weeds tangle in my feet as I struggled to match his speed. He shot rapidly upward and I could see his body silhouetted against the filtered sunlight ahead. He wouldn’t escape me now. I used all my strength to jet upwards so he couldn’t disappear again. His movement ceased just long enough for me to reach out and grasp his shoulder before he could swim away. He spun around and I was hit with the full view of his face. His beautiful face. So alien, yet so perfectly familiar. He moved closer and we clutched one another as we floated, frozen together in this endless of expanse of blue. It was bliss. Looking into his eyes, moving my lips to meet his lips, I felt bliss…_

Adam shot up out of his bed, breath coming in broken gasps and his dream still hovering on the edges of his vision. It had felt so real. It wasn’t the first dream like this he’d had since he’d begun this voyage, but it was the first time he’d been able to catch up to him. The others had all just been him frantically swimming through the sea, forever searching, but he’d always remained out of reach.

Adam was taking the fact that he’d finally caught the object of search to be a good sign. He and Jackson had been following this particular whale pod for weeks. Adam swore he would see shadows and shapes beneath the waves, teasing him, but there was never anything concrete. 

He would never be satisfied until he found that concrete proof.

“Hey Adam, good sleep?” Jackson asked as he raised the anchor, preparing for another long day of following the whale pod. Adam thought it over and shrugged.

“As good as any,” he replied, placing his binoculars around his neck, “Got a good feeling about today though!” He added, his voice struggling to make itself heard above the wind and the noise of blowholes releasing into the air.

“I’m glad one of us does,” Jackson said. He rested his arms at the wheel and looked off towards the horizon, “That sky looks nasty,” 

It did look nasty. There were huge columns of dark grey storm clouds off in the distance, but they were rapidly growing closer. The sea itself was a roiling mass of dark water, choppy and full of higher than average waves. Adam heard a slow roll of thunder and he furrowed his brow. A big storm was the last thing they needed right now. 

Adam felt the heavy gusts of wind through his hair and pulling at his clothes and he knew he had to acknowledge that it was pretty damn likely. Fuck. 

“Well, I guess we’ll have to see how long we can go for before it gets too rough then,” Adam said.

“I’ll try,” came the reluctant reply.

Adam took his log book and sat in his typical spot by the stern of the boat, staring out into the water. He desperately tried to scan for any sign of something unusual but it was difficult. After a while searching, his high hopes had fallen. It was clear there was no way he’d be able to spot anything today. 

The waves made it impossible to even make out the shapes of the whales under the surface, let alone something smaller. He sighed, frustrated before writing the data down in the log book. He closed his eyes and took one deep calming breath. In through the nose, out through the mouth. In through the nose, out through the mouth.

“Um, Adam?” Jackson called out, interrupting his calming process. 

Adam opened one eye, “Yes?” 

“I think we better call it a day. Drop anchor, head inside. It’s getting dangerous,” 

Adam opened both his eyes and saw what he meant. The sky was even worse than earlier, ugly black clouds were coming in and the wind was enough to rock the boat. 

“You’re probably right. Besides, at this point, unless the mermaids decide to jump up onto the boat, I’m hardly going to find anything,” Adam said. He tucked his log book inside his jacket just before the rain hit.

He raided the food supply for some dinner and a drink, preferably something alcoholic. All the positive energy from earlier had faded. His dream was just that, a dream. Until this storm system passed, he had no hope of finding what he was looking for. If it lasted any longer, their food would get low and they’d have to return to shore, mission failed.

Adam took his food back to the bunk and curled up with his iPod. He waved to Jackson when he got in his bunk on the other side of the room before closing his curtain and putting in the headphones. He put on his most calming playlist and planned to get an early night’s sleep, ignoring the sounds of the storm and the motions of the boat.

…

_Thump!_

Adam shot awake immediately at the sound and sensation that had struck the boat. He could feel the boat still rocking from whatever it was, but other than that, everything seemed fine. 

He tried to calm his breathing and relax his mind. He pulled aside the curtain to peek out at Jackson. He was still snoring away, no sign of any trouble. 

_It must’ve just been a heavy wave,_ he thought. 

He lied back down and shut his eyes only to be jolted awake by another sound, a loud roaring. 

This time he had just enough time to wonder what it could be before his world turned upside down. Literally.

Adam could feel the entire boat lifted up and tossed around like a child’s toy in a bathtub. He screamed out for Jackson, trying to see if he was okay, but he couldn’t make out any response over the roar of the storm and the violent screeches of the breaking boat.

He couldn’t tell which way was up and which way was down, all he knew was that he had managed to pull himself towards the outside deck of the boat. When he looked back, he could see that the shelter covering the inside had collapsed on itself and was drowned in water. There was no sign of Jackson. 

He bit his lip and prepared himself to go searching for him when another massive wave hit, Adam ducked down and clung to the deck, but he was unable to keep hold.

The huge wall of water pushed his body towards the side of the boat where his head slammed into the metal rail. The pain was excruciating and he immediately felt dizzy. He couldn’t tell which way was up and which way was down as he tried to keep his hold. All he could register was the swirl of debris around his body and the unpredictable movements of the boat. One more heavy wind gust hit forced him back into the rail and his mind went blank as he passed out.

He had a vague sense of his body being tossed about and of wetness before all consciousness left him.

When he awoke, the storm clouds had passed and instead the ocean was calm and there was a soft glow of early morning sunlight filling the sky. 

His eyes wouldn’t open all the way, his clothes were torn, his body ached and his head was pounding in agony. He looked down to see that he was laying on a piece of wooden debris. More detritus was floating around him, but when he lifted his head he saw no sign of the boat or of Jackson.

If he’d had any energy at all, he would’ve jumped at the feeling of a hand on his back, but as it were, he just sighed and enjoyed the calming touch.

He knew that his head was still weak and that he was very much out of it. That was the only explanation for the face that swam around to look at him. 

Perfect features, high forehead and beautiful sparkling blue eyes.

“You…” Adam whispered once before finally drifting back off into sweet black nothingness.


	3. The Oceans Collide

Adam awoke with a throbbing pain in his entire body. His head especially felt like it had been smashed in with a hammer. He could tell he was lying on a beach but he couldn’t remember what all had happened exactly. He remembered the storm and the boat flipping over but everything afterwards was just a big fuzzy blur. He had vague memories of it, but he must’ve been passed out and dreaming. 

Adam rolled over and opened his eyes and it was clear he was still dreaming. He was knocked unconsciousness and dreaming or delirious. Or he was dead. That was the only explanation for what he was seeing.

It was a mermaid- merman, the same one he'd seen save him. He was lounging on the rocks just off shore, humming to himself, looking for all the world like he'd just rolled off a Disney set. Adam blinked in shock and his mouth fell open.

God, he looked so much more _human_ than he thought they'd look. And yet…still not. His features were exotic. Enormous blue eyes, high forehead ending in a strip of blonde hair covering what Adam knew was a slight ridge, petite nose and full lips. His skin was a mottled peachy color with speckles of darker blue and white along his back. His lean body flowed down into the tail. Not scaled or fishlike as in myth, but smooth skin splaying out into broad flukes. Hardly human really.

But if he saw a picture of just his face? Adam would easily believe he were a normal man. A beautiful man, but a man nonetheless.

And that was impossible, so he must be dreaming.

But as Adam took stock of all his body and his mental facilities, he was starting to doubt that. Was it really so crazy? After all, wasn't this what he was searching for? The bodies he'd seen had all been partial remains. Broken, battered creatures that had washed ashore amid debris. It made sense that a strong, alive specimen would look so strange to him. So perfect.

The merman must've heard Adam's movement as he turned his gaze away from the distant sun and towards him. He smiled broadly as he took in Adam's newly awake state and dove into the water in front of his rocks. Adam saw his tail flick once before it disappeared beneath the surface, followed by a splash. Almost as quickly, he reappeared close to the beach. 

Close enough, in fact, that he was able then to drag his body partway onto shore. Adam instinctively shrunk away when the merman reached out for him with his webbed fingers. His smile fell as he noticed Adam's reluctance. He tapped a hand over his heart and nodded in what Adam guessed was meant to be a reassuring way.

Was this really happening to him? Did he really come all this way searching for these exact beings just to be too frightened to even make contact when one pulled him out of the sea? That wasn't the Adam he knew. 

He took a deep breath and scooted closer, ignoring his aching body, so that the merman wouldn't have to crawl any further up the beach. He summed up all his boldness and reached out his own hand to meet the merman's. He was rewarded with a return of his bright smile. 

Apparently facial expressions worked the same way for their two species. Or maybe the merman was really threatening to kill him. Adam would have to go with instinct on this one. It seemed unlikely that someone who had gone to so much trouble to save him would be violent now. Besides the way he was pressing their hands together seemed...friendly.

He met Adam's tired eyes with his bright ones. After a long moment, he pulled away and put his hand on his chest. He deliberately patted himself and let out a vocal sound. Adam gasped as he realized what the merman was doing. _He was telling him his name._

This creature that existed in myth was telling him his name. Adam couldn't quite make out what he was saying, there were too many high warbling vowels for him to understand. He furrowed his brow and bit his lip. The merman noticed his confusion and patted his chest again and repeated himself, only slower and more deliberate.

"Saauu-lii," It was still hard to understand, but Adam could just barely make it out.

"Sauli?” he tried to sound it out. 

The merman, Sauli's, face lit up with a smile and his tail flicked up and down.

"Sauli!" He nodded, apparently content with Adam’s version.

"Sauli," Adam repeated, softer. He then put a hand over his own chest.  
"Adam,"

"Aa-dam," he tried to imitate Adam's human tone. He was much better at it than Adam was with his.

"Adam," he confirmed.

Sauli's smile was infectious and Adam couldn't help himself from returning it.  
"Sauli," he patted himself, "Adam!" he pointed to Adam. "Sauli. Adam.  
Sauli. Adam," back and forth, back and forth.

Adam giggled at Sauli's enthusiasm. "Adam. Sauli," he said, laughing, "Wow, I must be delirious. How is this even happening?" Sauli just blinked. "Of course you can't understand me..." He laughed again, admittedly a little hysterical, then fell and he groaned, clutching at his stomach and head. Not even the distraction of an actual mermaid could pull him away from the pain for long. 

Sauli seemed to notice Adam’s discomfort and he quickly dived away into the water. He was gone for a few moments and when he returned, he was holding a still wriggling fish which he then placed onto one of the rocks and neatly snapped its spine. He looked up at Adam and set it at his feet close to him.

The instant Adam’s brain recognized the offering as food was also the instant he felt the sharp hollowness in stomach. He had no idea how long he’d been passed out but he knew his body needed sustenance. 

Adam looked down at the fish. Now, he may be a marine biologist but Adam was still a city boy. He appreciated the food intensely but the thought of sinking his teeth into a raw, bloody fish was turning his stomach. He glanced over to Sauli who was looking at him expectantly. Of course, he would see no problem with eating a raw fish.

Adam bit his lip and looked further up the beach, there were plenty of trees and Adam supposed he could try to build a fire…

However, as he scanned the beach, he spotted something odd close to the water’s edge near his feet. It was his emergency pack! His _waterproof_ emergency pack. It had a small supply of energy bars, water bottles, first-aid, all his sound recordings, and, thank god, a lighter. The water would last him a few days if he rationed, but he’d need to find a source of freshwater on this island somehow if he was going to be here for any amount of time. 

He got up and began to drag himself over to the emergency pack when Sauli called out. Adam turned and saw him holding out the fish, looking confused.

Adam pointed to his pack and Sauli brightened.

“Adam!” He gestured towards it and nodded.

“Did you save that for me?” Adam asked with a smile, knowing Sauli wouldn’t understand. Maybe he’d grabbed it himself before he’d washed ashore and he just didn’t remember. Either way, he had it now and there was no way in hell he was wasting it. By scooting close enough to grab it, he also brought himself much closer to Sauli. 

He still felt a little wary but so far, he had saved him, introduced himself, and given him food. Even if Adam had no idea of the customs of mermaid culture, it was clear Sauli was not threatening. 

He clutched his pack close to his chest and shifted so that he was lying directly beside   
Sauli. His hunger faded away as he let his eyes wander down the merman’s body. Again, Adam was struck by how human he looked. His well-defined chest and torso narrowed in and then out again at the tail. He looked up to meet Sauli’s eyes and saw him looking bemused as he placed the fish back down on the ground.

Adam kept eye contact with him as he laid a hand on his hip. Sauli tilted his head to the side as Adam trailed his touch down the side of his tail. The skin was so soft, not rubbery like a dolphin or whale, but just perfectly hairless and soft skin. Sauli hummed softly while Adam stroked his body and one glance up at his face showed his eyes closed and his mouth curved up into a small smile. 

He opened his eyes when Adam stopped and placed his own webbed hand on Adam’s leg, moving it up and down in the same way Adam had. He had been wearing shorts even before the crash, but now they were definitely worse for wear. He trailed his fingers through Adam’s leg hair and examined Adam’s feet, muttering to himself. Both of them were like curious children, examining the other being and comparing differences.

Sauli then stopped suddenly and looked up to meet Adam’s face. He smiled brightly before leaning forward, cupping his hand around Adam’s head and planting a kiss directly on his shocked mouth.

**Author's Note:**

> This is entirely inspired by the Animal Planet documentary, Mermaids: The Body Found. All the scientific stuff, all the data, the claims, everything. The information in this chapter especially is lifted entirely from the documentary . I promise more creative chapters are coming! (although they may be shorter)


End file.
